MOSCOW (AP) _ Seeking to expand its share of the global satellite market, Russia has signed an agreement on space launches from Australia's Christmas Island, but a similar deal with the European Union is still in doubt, Russia's space chief said Tuesday.
Russia's Aerospace Agency Director Yuri Koptev said that the contract with the Asia Pacific Space Center (APSC) was signed last weekend, but added that some details of the deal still need to be finalized.
The first launch from the Indian Ocean island, located 1,565 kilometers (970 miles) northwest of the Australian mainland, is expected around the end of 2004, Koptev said at a news conference.
Satellites will be launched atop Russia's new Aurora booster rocket, an upgraded version of the Soyuz rocket, a mainstay of the Russian space program for several decades. The Aurora can carry a payload of up to 12 metric tons (13.2 tons) into a low orbit, significantly enhancing the Soyuz's capacity of seven metric tons (7.7 tons).
Because of Christmas Island's proximity to the equator, it would allow Russian rockets to carry heavier cargoes to higher orbits, compared with launches from the Baikonur cosmodrome, which Russia leases from the former Soviet republic of Kazakstan. Russia will also continue to use Baikonur.
Koptev said his agency still disagrees with APSC on some details of the deal, including the Australian demand for launch guarantees that the Russian side considers excessive. The partners will also have to sign an agreement on protection of sensitive Russian technology - a process that would take several months, Koptev said.
Hard-currency earnings from commercial launches have been a key source of revenue for Russia's struggling space industry, which has been forced to survive on a fraction of its once-generous funds after the 1991 Soviet collapse.
"The deal with Australia will bring new orders to our rocket manufacturers and help us win more launch contracts,'' said Russian Aerospace Agency spokesman Sergei Gorbunov.
Koptev and other officials refrained from forecasting the number of launches or possible proceeds from the project. The market for commercial launches has shrunk this year, and its prospects remain dim, Koptev said.
Russia has also been talking to European Union countries about a proposal to launch Western satellites atop Russian Soyuz booster rockets from the Kourou launch pad in French Guiana, also located close to the equator.
Koptev said the deal was stymied by European demands for Russia to share launch pad construction costs, which it rejected as unfair, saying it considers the Soyuz technology a sufficient contribution.
"We are providing a ready rocket that has cost us much more than building a launch pad,'' he said.
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